Jun. 11, 2013 - 06:00AM
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Alvin Leon Roundtree ()

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The man who shot and wounded an active-duty Army captain Monday at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, has been identified as Alvin Leon Roundtree, 51, a retired sergeant first class.

He faces federal charges of domestic violence.

Roundtree appeared in court today and remains in custody. If convicted, Roundtree faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The captain, whom officials are not identifying but said was Roundtree’s common-law wife, was in stable condition at San Antonio Military Medical Center.

The captain, who had been an instructor at the Army Medical Department Center and School for less than a year, was shot four to six times, according to the criminal complaint against Roundtree.

According to the complaint, shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, Roundtree approached the captain, referred to in the complaint as Capt. M.M.M., to discuss their recent separation.

After an argument in her office, military officials have said, the captain asked Roundtree to step outside.

As the two argued about the captain’s decision to leave Roundtree, he pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and began shooting, according to the criminal complaint.

The victim tried to run away, but Roundtree continued shooting at her, striking her four to six times, according to the complaint.

Several witnesses saw Roundtree flee the scene in a vehicle, which he later abandoned.

Witnesses also saw Roundtree throw a handgun in a storm drain on post; the weapon was later recovered by law enforcement officials, according to the complaint.

Roundtree apparently made contact with the San Antonio Police Department through his attorney and was arrested shortly afterward, post spokesman Brent Boller said.

The victim, 46, underwent surgery at the hospital and later identified Roundtree as her assailant, according to the criminal complaint.

According to Army records, Roundtree retired as an E-7 in August 1999 after 20 years of service. He served as an operating room specialist and was stationed in Hawaii, Virginia and Texas during his career. He also served in Saudi Arabia from November 1990 to April 1991.

The shooting occurred outside Willis Hall, one of two buildings where the AMEDD Center and School is housed, spokesman Phil Reidinger said.

“Fortunately for the captain, since she was in a classroom area, there were plenty of medical personnel nearby,” he said. “That’s where we teach [physician assistants] and we have doctors and nurses on staff. They were able to provide immediate aid until the ambulance arrived.”

Chaplains assigned to the center and school immediately provided critical incident stress debriefings to the first responders and those in the immediate area of the incident, Reidinger. There are additional behavioral health support meetings with staff members today, he said.

Fort Sam Houston and the more than 30,000 people on post at the time were put on lockdown “immediately” after the shots were fired, Boller said. The lockdown lasted until about 3:40 p.m., after the suspect, who was still on post, was taken into custody, Boller said.

“The active shooter plan worked exactly like it was supposed to,” he said, citing cooperation between military officials and local authorities.

To his knowledge, the last time a similar incident occurred on Fort Sam Houston was in 1993, Reidinger said.

A disgruntled civilian employee took his supervisor hostage. It was a daylong standoff until police were able to negotiate the hostage’s release. No one was hurt, Reidinger said.

Reidinger praised the response to yesterday’s shooting – from the immediate call to shelter in place and the ensuing lockdown, to the care provided by medical personnel on the scene.

“Everyone did what they were supposed to do,” he said.

The FBI, Army Criminal Investigation Command and the San Antonio police are investigating the incident.